台灣政經索隱

Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou was elected last year largely to improve the island's economy through closer links with China. His government is misinterpreting that mandate to include closer ties with China's authoritarian politics, too.

台灣總統馬英九去年當選總統是因為他誓言拉近中國關係來改善台灣經濟，只是馬政府竟然誤判自己受託的使命，連帶把中國威權政治那一套也拉進台灣了。

There's no other way to interpret Taipei's decision to refuse an entry visa to Rebiya Kadeer. The Uighur activist was invited by a local rock star Wednesday to visit the island in December. The Ma government shut that idea down fast. Interior minister Chiang Yi-hua told parliamentarians Friday that Ms. Kadeer's World Uighur Congress "is related to terrorist groups" and thus couldn't visit the island. Premier Wu Den-yih added the decision was "in the best interests of Taiwan and its people."

沒有其他可以解釋台灣政府拒絕熱比婭拜訪台灣的決定。熱比婭是被台灣的搖滾樂歌手邀請在十二月時訪問台灣。馬政府很快的就澆了冷水。內政部長在立法院說：「熱比婭世界維吾爾大會和恐怖份子的組織有關連」因此不允許她訪台。吳敦義院長也補充說：「這是對台灣和台灣人民最有利的決定。」

These explanations don't add up. Taiwan doesn't explicitly categorize any Uighur group as a terrorist organization. Ms. Kadeer lives peacefully in Washington DC and her organization, which represents one of China's most oppressed minorities, has renounced violence. Other democracies, including Australia and Japan, have welcomed her to their shores without incident.

這些解釋其實不通。台灣並沒有真正將世界維吾爾大會當作恐怖組織。熱比婭和平的住在美國華盛頓，她所領導的這個世維組織代表著一個被最中國迫害的少數民族之一，而她的組織根本是反對暴力的。其他民主國家，像澳洲、日本都很歡迎她。

As for the claim that it's in citizens' "best interests" not to listen to Ms. Kadeer, surely that's a decision for the individual, not for the government, to make—a choice made possible in a democracy. Taiwan is home to a variety of pro- and anti-China groups, both of whose views are covered extensively in the island's lively media. Why not let Mrs. Kadeer present her evidence of China's brutal campaign against the Uighurs and then let citizens decide what they think?

另外，在一個民主國家，聽不聽熱比婭講話應該是台灣個人的決定，而非政府的權責。台灣媒體親中跟反中都有，十分熱鬧，何不讓熱比婭親自登台講述中國暴力鎮壓的證據，並讓人民自行決定如何看待此事？

By refusing Ms.Kadeer a visa—before she even applied, no less—the Ma government is appeasing China. Shortly after Ms. Kadeer's trip was announced, Chinese state-run media threatened to pull Beijing's support for Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization and to halt cross-Strait economic liberalization. Beijing raised a similar fuss when Taipei let the Dalai Lama visit the island earlier this month to comfort victims of Typhoon Morakot.

無庸置疑的，在熱比婭還沒申請簽證前就拒絕她是在取悅中國。

Mr. Ma may believe that he's doing Taiwan a favor by acceding to threats in the short term to gain more economic integration with China down the road. But the real risk is that caving to authoritarian bullying will weaken Taiwan's bargaining power vis-a-vis Beijing while betraying the democratic values Taiwan stands for.

馬先生也許相信他這麼做是為台灣好。這樣做可以擺脫短期的威脅而換取與中國未來經濟上的整合。但真正的風險是，如此軟弱地屈服於獨裁政權的無理取鬧，未來將弱化台灣對於北京的談判勢力，同時也違反了台灣所代表的民主價值。